


Friends

by noctlis



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-14 07:06:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14130729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noctlis/pseuds/noctlis
Summary: Goro realizes he may not be as alone as he thought.





	Friends

Cafe Leblanc is steeped in the smell of coffee beans as always, the aroma almost overpowering as Goro walks through the door, the bell chime signaling his arrival. The hard soles of his shoes tap along the floor, loud clicks echoing with each step, and he shifts his briefcase in his hand, gripping it tighter as he glances around. There are no other customers aside from himself, and the lights are dimmed a little, giving the whole room a blurred appearance, like a deserted ghost town at sunset.  Apparently no one else considered coming to enjoy a nice cup of coffee on a cool Monday evening, and the empty cafe atmosphere is a strange mixture of welcoming and forcefully vacant, as if the absence of all other people is telling him he as well doesn't belong here.

 

Goro ignores the thought and turns his gaze to the counter.

 

Even the owner of the cafe appears to be absent, and instead, Goro finds Kurusu Akira behind the counter, the boy focused heavily on preparing a cup of coffee in a specific way, as if trying to recall just how it is made based on instructions he had received on a previous occasion. He doesn't even look up at Goro's entrance, his dark, fluffy hair falling over his eyes as he stares down at the cup. Still, he manages to announce in a friendly voice, "Welcome. What can I get for you?"

 

Goro plasters on a smile and seats himself at the counter, placing his briefcase in the chair beside him. "Honestly, I would be interested in trying whatever it is you're so diligently creating over there."

 

At the sound of Goro's voice, Kurusu seems to startle back to reality and he glances up, surprise dancing across his features when he meets Goro's gaze. "Oh. Akechi," he says, setting the cup down and wiping his hands on his apron.

 

"I hope I'm not intruding," Goro says, his tone a mask of pleasantries. He watches Kurusu visibly relax almost immediately, a soft grin pulling on his lips while he adds a few finishing touches to the cup of coffee and then slides it over the countertop in front of Goro.

 

"Not at all," Kurusu replies with a small shake of his head. "You're always welcome here. Enjoy." His words and expression reveal nothing out of the ordinary, no matter how hard Goro attempts to analyze them. He isn't sure whether to take them at face value or not, but he supposes that doesn't really matter and instead, he lifts the coffee cup up and inhales the strong scent. It's a little sweet, perhaps mixed with the vague hint of something fruity, and if Goro is honest, he doesn't remember the last time the smell of coffee was this enticing. He quickly tips the cup back and allows the warm liquid to spread throughout his mouth before he swallows. As it turns out, the flavor is even better than the scent.

 

Kurusu seems to be able to tell that Goro is enjoying it as he smugly nods his head at the cup in Goro's hand. "Sojiro just taught me a new blend. I guess that makes you officially the first person to try it."

 

"Ah, then I'm honored."

 

The cafe falls quiet once again as Kurusu returns to cleaning and Goro continues sipping at the coffee. The atmosphere almost starts to feel comfortable, a strange warmth accompanying Kurusu's presence. He tends to have that effect, Goro notes. An unbidden talent of bringing light to those around him.

 

A talent Goro subconsciously envies and despises.

 

But as time passes, the emptiness persists and steadily, it begins to overtake him again. The taste of the coffee is satisfying, of course, but the more he drinks, the more it morphs, the more a thought comes creeping up at the back of his mind, slipping through the cracks of his skull until it poisons his tongue and he hesitates.

 

Does he really deserve to drink this? Does he really deserve to be sitting here in this cafe, a place of comfort and warmth for people to come and relax and feel at home? The sense that he doesn't belong becomes amplified, until Goro can barely stand it. He feels like he'll explode if he keeps sitting here doing nothing so he says the first thing he thinks of, voice quiet in the vast space of the cafe.

 

"Do you.. ever wonder what everyone would think if you just.. disappeared?"

 

Goro stares down at his coffee, tilting the cup in his hands so that the hot liquid swirls around and sloshes up the sides. He considers once again lifting it to drink more but the sinking feeling in the pit of his gut keeps him from doing so, a vague sense of nausea settling at the back of his throat. His words hover in the air, heavy and unsettling, and when he looks up, Kurusu is blinking at him with an unreadable expression.

 

"By 'disappear' do you mean.. die?"

 

"Maybe," Goro replies quietly. He's not even entirely sure himself. Maybe it's better that way.

 

"I… don't know. I haven't really thought about it, I guess," Kurusu finally says after a lengthy pause. He sets down the dishes he had been cleaning and sighs, the sound so soft it's almost swallowed by the tense air in the cafe. "I think.. the people closest to me would be devastated. After all, it's hard when you lose someone you care about, who you see everyday. There are a lot of people who rely on me, and who I rely on,  so if I were suddenly gone… Well, I guess they would probably miss me." Kurusu laughs lightly, the fluttering sound rattling around in Goro's skull as if the cavity were empty.

 

Of course. Of course someone as perfect, as friendly and approachable, as kind, warm, and genuine as Kurusu would be able to answer like that. Of course there are many people who have been drawn in by Kurusu's charms, who would stand by him through thick and thin and would feel his absence keenly. Of course he has friends. He probably never feels the loneliness that seeps into Goro's bones sometimes, that pollutes his bloodstream and corrupts his thoughts to the point that he can barely tell reality from his twisted mind. He probably never feels as if he were better off dead, because there's nothing for him in this world that chewed him up and spit him out. Kurusu has everything, meanwhile Goro is left in the dust, not even worthy enough to be considered a shadow of the man before him.

 

It makes Goro feel sick to his stomach.

 

He smiles wryly, a self-deprecating laugh escaping his lips as he sets the cup back onto the table. He's unable to keep his voice steady when he speaks. "It figures."

 

"What..?" Kurusu says uncertainly.

 

Goro's smile fades as fast as it had formed. "No one would notice or care if I were gone," he says.

 

It's the truth, isn't it? Goro has thought it through many times over.

 

Sae might be confused if he stopped talking to her, but she would likely assume he was busy with other things and never once question why, eventually forgetting that Goro had ever been an acquaintance of hers at all as she continues her case work. The fans… They are superficial, fickle at best. They might claim to miss him but celebrities are easiest of all to replace. Within a week, they would undoubtedly have someone new to throw their attention at and Goro would be a thing of the past, a flop of a detective who would soon be forgotten to the public, a one hit wonder who never achieved anything in his short life. The news reporters and journalists who vie for his time in interviews and TV specials would have no problem finding other popular figures to fill their spots and answer their questions. They only ever used Goro in order to draw viewers in by discussing the phantom thieves anyway, and without a doubt there are plenty of others who would gladly share their sentiments in regards to the group of vigilantes. Goro is dispensable, merely a means to an end.

 

No, Goro would not be missed in the slightest.

 

After that, who even is left? Goro has no friends, not a single person that would care for him in the way the other thieves care for Kurusu. He rarely attends school, and almost never talks to people his age. Any acquaintances he makes are purely work related, whether it's "detective" work or the dirty work assigned to him that cements Goro's place as truly worthless, unforgivable trash. The person to whom Goro is closest,  in terms of solely physical distance and certainly in no way that could ever count as anything greater than necessity, is someone he abhors with every fiber of his being, someone he wishes he could destroy with his own two hands. And without a doubt, without needing to think it over or consider the possibilities, he would probably be overjoyed at Goro's disappearance, finding no problem in the absence of someone who could very easily become a liability to him. In fact, it wouldn't be surprising if, in the end, Goro did disappear and it was all a masterfully orchestrated plot by the most despicable man who ever lived.

 

Goro always comes to the same conclusion in the end no matter what way he looks at it. That everyone would be better off if he were gone.

 

It's a logical deduction based on solid evidence, following a clear and concise line of reasoning. Can there be any room for doubt? Even if he isn't really a detective, he finds that there's simply no other answer to uncover, and nothing to refute any of it either. He holds no redeeming qualities, no buffers, no traits that could balance out the playing field and give him an advantage where he otherwise is entirely lacking. Such an unfair and unjust game, he thinks. And then in the end, even the fake personality he dons the most often serves him almost no purpose. Once again, just a means to an end.

 

Just what kind of end, he realizes, though, he can't even conceive of.

 

"Don't say that."

 

Goro is pulled out of the downward spiral of his thoughts in an instant, like he had been submerged under water and all it took were those few words to bring him back to the surface. His head snaps up to meet sparkling eyes filled with deep concern, a soft frown, so much warmth that he forgets how to breathe. Kurusu is staring him down with an intense amount of caring and consideration that Goro has never once in his life been privy to, and frankly, he has no idea how to react. He blinks at Kurusu, mouth slightly agape, unable to form any any kind of coherent thought.

 

And then, all of a sudden, Kurusu leans forward over the counter, closing the distance between himself and Goro in a matter of seconds. Goro feels it before he can fully comprehend what's happening, the sensation of lips, gentle and sweet, pressed lightly to his forehead. A gesture of kindness, a reminder of something Goro forgot long ago. Time seems to stop all at once, as if the only things left in the world are himself and Kurusu, frozen in this moment, and Goro's mind short circuits as he attempts to process the situation, a jumbled mess of shadows, darkness, and abrupt light that illuminates it all.

 

When Kurusu steps back, he's wearing such a breathtaking smile that anything Goro might have tried to say is lost to him, swallowed before the words can make it to his mouth.

 

"You can't say that no one would care if you were gone because you would be wrong," Kurusu says, his tone laced with unquestionable finality as he ruffles Goro's hair affectionately. The touch is so unfamiliar, so indescribable, Goro can't help but stiffen, his body rigid in confusion. But there's something about it that reaches straight to Goro's very core, fingers gently brushing through the strands and spreading more and more warmth from the tip of head to his toes. Soon enough, he relaxes again. "I would definitely miss you."

 

The heat that pools in Goro's cheeks, the tip of his nose and ears, is unbearable, like his face is on fire. But for some reason, he can't say he hates it. His heart pounds heavily against his rib cage, an uneven and almost painful rhythm that Goro has no control over, even as he clutches at his chest.

 

"You would… miss me?" He repeats quietly.

 

The thoughts that had been plaguing him before, the conviction with which he had felt so wholly certain that no one cared if he was alive or dead wavers, blurring and shifting, suddenly seeming less and less logical the more he gazes at that blinding smile, at the fondness reflected in Kurusu's eyes.

 

"Of course," Kurusu responds wholeheartedly, without a moment of hesitation. "We're friends, after all."

 

Friends.

 

Goro had always despised that word. It was a painful reminder of what he was lacking, what he could never have. He was Akechi Goro, useless scum who was born alone and would die alone. At least, that's what he used to think. But now, with Kurusu in front of him with that stupid, infectious smile that makes Goro feel like somehow everything will be alright, Goro thinks he might not mind it so much.

 

"Friends, huh…" He mutters, maybe smiles a little himself, unable to stop the way his lips begin to pull up instinctively. Seeing this, Kurusu seems distinctly content, as if this alone was his goal all along. As if he just wanted to make Goro smile a real, genuine smile. Maybe Goro doesn't deserve any of this, but that doesn't matter at this point and it's not going to stop him, even just momentarily, from enjoying this moment, from basking in the light of the sun that is Kurusu.

 

Then Goro lifts the previously abandoned coffee once more, this time intending to finish it. "I guess you might be right about that," he says.

**Author's Note:**

> I really want them to be friends. Please let them be friends :(  
> Anyway I'm working on like 5 fics currently and this just happened to be the first one I finished.. Clearly I have good focus lol. Well I hope you enjoy! This is not meant to be shippy but if you want to interpret it that way, then feel free. I just really wanted to write a sweet interaction between Akechi and Akira. I also just want Akechi to be happy. And since canon wouldn't give that to me, you can be sure I'll be writing more with him in the near future.  
> As always, no criticisms or critiques please but comments and kudos are loved. Thanks for reading~


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